by Linda Straker
- Lower House meets on Wednesday, 19 November to discuss new section for Fisheries Act
- Over 3,000 active fisherfolk and over 900 fishing vessels registered
- Annual revenue gain is over EC$50 million
Inserting a new section in the Fisheries Act to establish the observer and monitoring system to improve the effectiveness of the Fisheries Act, and increasing the penalty up to EC$100,000 or 12 months imprisonment, are among the amendments the government will be seeking to approve in Parliament when the Lower House meets on Wednesday, 19 November 2025.
The amendment to the Fisheries Act is part of the compliance process for Grenada to export fish and fish products to the US market. In August 2025, the US announced it would ban fish imports from Grenada starting 1 January 2026, because Grenada failed to comply with the US Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) by not providing a comparability finding.
In September 2025, the government, through a news release from the Ministry of Marine Affairs, said that it is working collaboratively with stakeholders, legal experts, and partners to restore access to the US seafood market in 2026 and to uphold Grenada’s reputation for responsible marine stewardship.
The new insertion states that the Chief Fisheries Officer shall establish, plan and manage an observer and monitoring programme for the purpose of collecting and reporting reliable and accurate information for scientific, management and compliance purposes under the act.
“For the purposes of this section, an observer shall exercise scientific, monitoring and any other relevant functions that may be on a fishing vessel or facility related to fisheries that have been granted a licence, permit or authorisation under this Act,” said the legislation, which provides a definition for “observer” and “marine mammal.”
According to the explanatory notes, Clause 4 provides for the amendment of Section 40 of the principal act to expressly empower the minister to make regulations relating to marine mammals. “Additionally, this amendment inserts a new subsection (4) to empower the Minister to create offences in the regulations to which penalties can be imposed. However, the penalties prescribed by the regulations cannot be greater than a fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for 12 months.”
There are over 3,000 active fisherfolk and over 900 fishing vessels registered with the fisheries division. When the ban goes into effect, the livelihoods of thousands in the fishing sector are expected to be negatively affected.
During the first quarter of 2025, data from the Ministry of Finance showed there was an increase of 1% in the export of fish. Grenada’s fish is mainly exported to the USA market, particularly along the eastern seaboard, according to people involved in the Fish export business. The revenue gain is over EC$50 million annually.
